230 



RADRICES. 



wall in the neighbourhood of a pigeon-house at Westhall, in 

 the parish of Monymeal, Fifeshire, 31st December 1825. The 

 feathers were quite fresh and entire, like those of a wild bird. 

 I owe the possession of the specimen to the ornithological 

 zeal and attention of the Rev. A. Esplin, schoolmaster of 

 Monymeal." It does not appear that another individual has 

 been met with in Britain or Ireland ; but M. Temminck states 

 that the species has occurred in Norway and Russia. 



Columba migratoria, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 285 Ectopistes 

 migratoria, Audubon Synops. 194 ; Ornith. Biogr. i. 319. 



ORDER XII. RADRICES. SCRAPERS. 



The only general character distinctive of every species 

 belonging to this group, is one derived from the digestive 

 organs. A very large dilatation of the oesophagus, form- 

 ing a crop, lying when distended equally on both sides of 

 the neck, and such an enlargement of the coeca as to ren- 

 der their capacity at least half of that of the intestine, 

 occur together in no other birds. It is very difficult to 

 assign general characters of any other kind to them ; but 

 they may be described as follows : 



Body large and full ; neck of moderate length ; head 

 oblong, rather small. Bill short, with the upper man- 

 dible arched, transversely concave, its edges overlapping, 

 the tip blunt. Mouth of moderate width, or rather nar- 

 row ; tongue short, triangular, flat above ; oesophagus nar- 

 row, but expanded into a very large subglobose crop ; pro- 

 ventriculus oblong ; stomach a powerful gizzard, of which 

 the muscles are very large, the tendons radiated, the epi- 

 thelium forming two thick, elliptical, transversely rugous 

 plates, opposite the muscles, but in the other parts thin- 

 ner ; intestine long and rather wide ; coeca extremely 



